Some lasers, such as ruby lasers, emit short pulses of light. Others, like helium–neon gas lasers or liquid dye lasers, emit light that is continuous. NIF, like the ruby laser, emits pulses of light lasting only billionths of a second. Laser light does not need to be visible. read more
Learn about the various types of lasers and how they generate such concentrated light. read more
While solid, liquid, and gas lasers tend to be large, powerful, and expensive, semiconductor lasers are cheap, tiny, chip-like devices used in things like CD players, laser printers, and barcode scanners. They work like a cross between a conventional Light-emitting diode (LED) and a traditional laser. read more